Tipsheet: WM Buys Parcel | Buffett Buys Pilot | USPS ‘Stalker’s Dream’ | Target Pickup Test
Berkshire Hathaway buys 38.6% stake in Pilot Flying J at CNBC. “Pilot Flying J is the largest operator of truck stops and rest stops in North America, with 750 locations and more than $20 billion in revenue. The company is 15th on Forbes’ list of America’s largest private companies.” Read more
Walmart has acquired the logistics startup Parcel to help launch same-day delivery in New York City by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “(Parcel) handles scheduled and same-day delivery services in New York for online retailers like Bonobos and meal-kit companies like Chef’d and Martha Stewart’s Martha & Marley Spoon. Parcel will continue to serve those clients, but Walmart will also utilize the startup’s technology and network of delivery employees to ramp up its own same-day delivery offerings for both Jet.com and Walmart.com in New York City.” Read more
Target’s test of curbside pickup launches at 50 Twin Cities stores by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Nearly 200,000 items that span home furnishings, household essentials, toys and nonperishable food are eligible for the service. Fresh groceries such as produce and refrigerated or frozen items are not included. No minimum order is required and the service is free.” Read more
High-Income Shoppers to Drive Holiday Spending Up 6% This Year by Alexandra Stratton at Bloomberg. “…those with household incomes under $60,000 will cut their outlays for both gifts and entertainment as they deal with stagnant wages…Last year, U.S. holiday sales grew 4 percent to $658.3 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.” Read more
Boxed Is Looking to Challenge Amazon and Cash In on the Ecommerce Ad Exchange Boom by Christopher Heine at Adweek. “Boxed…is introducing a real-time auction platform for its top-of-the-page, sponsored search results. The New York-based company has offered ads for a few years through its six-person sales team, but is now aiming to ramp up revenue from its ad inventory by pitting bidder versus bidder—and in the process, take away a chunk of business from ecommerce powerhouses Amazon and Walmart.” Read more
YouGov: 2017’s Top 10 Millennial Brands (HEB & Walmart #3, Amazon #8) by Angela Natavidad at Adweek. Top 10 list
USPS ‘Informed Delivery’ Is Stalker’s Dream at Krebs on Security. “A free new service from the U.S. Postal Service that provides scanned images of incoming mail before it is slated to arrive at its destination address is raising eyebrows among security experts who worry about the service’s potential for misuse by private investigators, identity thieves, stalkers or abusive ex-partners. The USPS says it hopes to have changes in place by early next year that could help blunt some of those concerns.” Read more
American Express wins dismissal of lawsuit over lost Costco contract by Jonathan Stempel at Fox Business. “In a decision made public on Monday, U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan rejected claims that American Express improperly downplayed the risk its 16-year relationship with Costco might end, and concealed how the warehouse chain had generated 8 percent of its revenue and 20 percent of its loans.” Read more
**A message from Pirola – Made in Italy – Designer ironing boards add style to any home. Exclusively made in Italy for 45 years. Custom colors & designs available. Website. Retailers request samples at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. Italy to U.S. product connection
Nordstrom buyout unlikely due to high interest rates by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “With little chance of receiving much less expensive rates, a buyout of their company is not likely, the sources said. In recent days, banks like JPMorgan Chase asked the Nordstrom family for the flexibility to charge a 12 percent interest rate on the bonds they underwrite, one lender said.” Read more
This Couple Scammed Amazon Out of $1.2 Million. Now They Have to Pay It Back by Grace Donnelly at Forbes. “For Amazon, it’s often cheaper to replace items when these claims are filed than to investigate. But after using hundreds of fake online identities to grift the online retail giant, the husband and wife team face up to 20 years behind bars for fraud and money laundering.” Read more
Inside Amazon’s $300 million private-label business by Stefany Zaroban at Internet Retailer. “The merchant’s AmazonBasics brand accounts for nearly 85% of all of its private-label sales so far this year, while its apparel and baby care brands are growing at 90% year over year.” Read more
Jeff Bezos muscles way to top of Vanity Fair’s ‘New Establishment’ list again at Vanity Fair. Top 100 list
Metro’s $4.5-billion takeover of Jean Coutu creates Quebec mega-firm by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “The deal will create a combined company with 1,300 retail stores, 87,000 employees and $16 billion in annual revenue, and will result in an anticipated $75 million in cost savings in three years.” Read more
Whole Foods dominating the competition since Amazon takeover by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “In the first week of the Amazon takeover…(Whole Foods) gained nearly 10 percent of (Trader Joe’s) customers compared with a year ago, according to a report by Thasos Group, a research company, which tracked shoppers’ mobile phone location data…by the third week (Trader Joe’s) shoppers accounted for 6 percent.” Read more | Download report
Starbucks Shutters Online Store As It ‘Elevates’ Mobile Perks, Store Experiences by Barbara Thau at Forbes. “The coffee chain will instead channel its digital-commerce efforts towards its mobile app and the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program (which accounts for 36% of U.S. company-operated sales), both cornerstones of its so-called “digital flywheel strategy.” Read more
Amazon flies cargo plane into hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico, loaded with donated supplies by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “Amazon plane packed with donation of critical supplies landed earlier today in San Juan. Thank you to all the Amazonians who made it happen,” Bezos wrote in posts on Twitter and Instagram.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
“Craft beer” faces an identity crisis as Great American Beer Festival arrives in Denver
New Hannaford loyalty program will reward private-brand purchases
Quebec retailers fear they will be shortchanged in NAFTA renegotiation
Whole Foods in-house items on the rise among Amazon’s top-selling brands
Here are the retailers opting to stay closed on Thanksgiving this year
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